DEDHAM — Entering the Cal Ripken Eastern Massachusetts 11-year-old tournament, Dedham was the only squad in the 10-team field without a district title under its belt. After Thursday’s 3-2 win over Riverside-Bradford, it is also the only one without a loss.

Andrew Mercuri doubled to lead off the bottom of the third inning and scampered home on a wild pitch for what turned to be the winning run in Dedham’s fourth straight victory, lifting the hosts into Saturday’s championship at Capone Field.

Dedham will meet the winner of Friday night’s game between Riverside-Bradford and Plymouth, which handed Burlington its second loss of the double-elimination tournament in the nightcap Thursday, on Saturday at noon. As the last undefeated team, Dedham will have two chances to beat the survivor of the loser’s bracket to earn a berth in the New England Regional in Skowhegan, Maine.

The if necessary game would be played immediately following on Saturday.

Dedham jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With JoJo Powers on with a single and two outs, Matt Ryan drilled a ball to left field that clanged high off the fence for an RBI double, and Alex Georgantas followed by plating Ryan with a single.

Riverside-Bradford began the second with three straight hits to cut the lead to 2-1 and put runners on second and third with no outs. Dedham starter Erik Leonard got a comebacker, a strikeout and a sprawling catch in left from Ryan that saved two runs to escape with the lead intact.

Riverside-Bradford tied it with a run in the third against reliever Scott Nosky. With runners on first and third and one out, Georgantas went to a split for a hockey-like glove save at third, briefly holding the runner as he fired to second for the force, but the runner took off for the plate and the throw home was just late to tie the game at 2-2.

But Dedham took the lead right back when leadoff hitter Mercuri drove a ball deep to the opposite field in left for a double, moved over to third on a Leonard groundout and made an aggressive break the plate when the ball got away for a 3-2 edge.

Nosky worked around a two-out double in the fourth and was helped out by another fantastic play by Georgantas in the fifth, who snared a hard-hit ball with two on and turned a 5-4 double play. Nosky picked up the win with his three solid frames.

Ty Murphy was brought on to protect the 3-2 lead in the sixth to face the 4-5-6 hitters in the lineup. After a first-pitch pop-up, Murphy surrendered a liner to the fence in right-center, but Jack Roslonek retrieved it quickly and delivered a strike to second base from the warning track to nail the runner at second.

Page 2 of 2 - The tying run reached on a two-out walk, but Riverside-Bradford’s last chance was hit directly to Powers at shortstop to end the game.